How Much Does SEO Cost for a Small Business?

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a key factor for your success on the Internet. Without it, your website, even if it is thoroughly developed and exclusive, could stay unknown to your potential customers for a long time if not forever. SEO is not a single process but it is a full-fledged pack of tools that help your website to be relevant user's searches and queries. 

Even for a small business, using SEO is profitable as it helps both to find customers and to scale your business in the future. Yet, some business owners think that SEO rates are too costly and try their best to do all the things themselves. In RexSoft, we truly understand that position but we also have some arguments to prove you need SEO and it should be provided by experienced pros.

What Is SEO and What Services Does It Include?

Let's start with the basics of what SEO is. This is generally the optimization of your site and its content for the requirements of search engines. Whatever your advertising strategy, the chances that customers will come to you solely because of it are slim. It is much more realistic to rely on the SEO toolkit.

Let's take a simple example.  If you sell clothes for children at your store in Austin, Texas, you are most likely interested in customers from that location. Or you are ready to work with the delivery of your goods to other states. In a standard offline situation, people come to your store only seeing an advertisement or a signboard above the store. In an online environment, they need to understand what you offer to visit your site. This is the SEO's task to make your site informative, both for visitors and for search bots that rank sites when requested by the user. With the right SEO strategy, your site will be listed at the TOP of Google or Bing if the user requests baby clothes in Austin, Texas, and other similar queries.

Success in SEO reveals only when your site gets to the 1st page of search engines - TOP-10. 75% of all search traffic is generated by the first page of Google because most users do not go beyond the 1st page of the search.

In order for the site's pages to enter the TOP-10, 3 components are required: Technical optimization of the site, Content, and "Authority".

• Technical site optimization - is the detection and correction of technical errors of the site, which can negatively affect the speed of loading pages, correct display of the site in browsers, and indexing by search engines. Also, technical optimization includes the development of site structure and placement of links between internal pages of the site.
• Content - is the publication of high-quality, relevant, reliable, structured information content of the site (images, tables, texts, audio tracks, videos).
• "Authority" is the work of increasing links from other sites, mentions of the brand on the Internet, and brand inquiries.

At the same time, the range of SEO services is wide enough. It includes:

• Preliminary audit and site analysis, if you already have one.
• Strategy development.
• The introduction of SEO into the site engine consists of work with the order of web pages, the correct filling of tags and meta-data, and other operations with the site's functionality.
• Development of relevant content and selection of the semantic core, that is, user requests and keywords from them, according to which your site should be located in search engines.
• External and internal link building. That is, placing links to your site and its individual pages both inside your site itself and on third-party resources.
• SEO promotion analytics and strategy correction in case of insufficient efficiency.

Of course, in each specific case, the range of SEO services for a small business will differ, because it depends both on your wishes and on the availability of the site, its current state and ranking, duration of work, and other factors.

Now is the time to consider what models of payment for SEO services for small businesses exist, and which of them should be given preference to you.

SEO Price Models for a Small Businesses

First of all, let's consider what the price for a package of SEO services consists of. The basic list may include preliminary consulting, planning, providing services to improve the website's ranking in search engines, and further maintenance. 

You should understand that SEO process is a long-lasting one as it requires constant control and flexible strategy that, in general, requires weeks to get any visible result and high ROI. Due to that, there are several SEO pricing models.  

Hourly SEO Rates

When you need to solve some problems with your SEO but you do not need constant work on your website and its promotion, the hourly model of SEO pricing for a small business is a good idea to choose. For small businesses, it is often the best option as small businesses do not require as many services as big ones, To be precise, an average rate for the hourly model is $20-$100 per hour.

Monthly Retainer

It is the most popular model as it refers to a classic scheme of monthly payments we all are used to. Sometimes, it is really comfortable to use that model, especially, if you want to scale up your business in the future. In that way, you'll get an outsourcing team of SEO pros at your hand constantly. Yet, you should pay for it from $1,000 up to $10,000+. The rate depends on the number of services provided, the appetite of an agency, and its specialists' skills. 

RexSoft offers customers 3 packages of SEO promotion - these are BASIC, GROWTH, SCALE-UP. The cost of packages is from $997/month to $4,997/month. Packages differ in the list of services and scope of work.

Project-Based SEO

If you are developing your website from the scratch, it could be profitable to choose project-based SEO services. These ones are also good for small business representatives. You sign a contract with an agency and choose services according to your budget. Agency pros provide you with them in terms of your project, then you pay them and, if necessary, sign another contract for the next project. It is also the best way to launch your Internet-based business in a specific niche or if you are developing your personality brand.

RexSoft's SEO specialists have prepared a list of SEO services from competitive analysis to preparation, performance of technical tasks, and content writing. Each client has the opportunity to choose only those services from the list that are most needed by the company.

Fixed-Price SEO

Some may think that that model is the most convenient for a small business. Yet, it is not so. In that model, you agree to pay a certain price for the whole pack of SEO services. But you couldn't be sure that the pack you choose will fully meet your expectations and real-life situation. So be careful with it. As usual, that model requires a similar budget to the project-based SEO model. And it is $5,000+.

TOP Factors That Influence SEO Cost for a Small Business

What сan affect small business SEO costs? You can find many such factors.

TOP Recommendations on How to Reduce SEO Cost for a Small Businesses

Well, it's not so bad as it seems for a small business. We have some tips on how to reduce SEO costs for you.

• Determine exactly the goals and timing of the SEO. The more accurately you outline the range of tasks and services that you need, the less likely you will be burdened with unnecessary services for not extra money for you.
• Remember that the task of SEO in small business is to accurately target the audience and show your site to those who are really interested in your products or services.
• Do not think that the higher the agency's status and the higher the prices for its services, the better for you. Small businesses often have a limited pool of SEO services, while large agencies offer turnkey services, rather adapted to large businesses and their goals.
• Not only US residents can provide you with SEO services. For example, RexSoft employs talented SEOs from different countries. At the same time, their services are several times lower than those of representatives of American marketing and IT.

SEO is not a fad or a waste for your budget. Small businesses need it as much as large businesses do. But to approach the choice of a contractor wisely and choose a pricing model that will be profitable for you is no less important than promoting your site in the search engine rankings.